Google has revealed a list of the top ten most searched news in 2024, offering a glimpse into the interests that captured Kenyans’ attention throughout the year.
In Google’s Year in Search report, The Social Health Authority topped the list.
The report is an annual analysis that reveals the top trending lists and also spotlights what the world searches for.
According to Google, the new Health Act attracted a higher number of searches, emerging as the first out of the 10 most searched news stories.
SHA was rolled out on October 1, to replace the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Kenyans also searched for Finance Bill 2024, which President William Ruto declined to sign into law following mass protests in the country.
A day after the Gen Z Protestors occupied the Parliament, Ruto said he would go by the wishes of Kenyans in declining to sign the bill saying he had listened to the people’s views.
“Listening keenly to the people of Kenya, who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this Finance Bill 2024, I concede and therefore I will not sign the 2024 Finance Bill and shall subsequently be withdrawn,” he said.
Kenyans also widely searched for US Election 2024.
The elections were held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, with Americans choosing between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.
Former President Trump was seeking a non-consecutive second term, which he got after defeating Vice President Harris.
Republicans also gained control of the Senate and held narrow control of the House of Representatives, winning a government trifecta for the first time since 2016.
The fourth of the most searched topics was the Gachagua Impeachment which took place in October.
Haiti became number five on the list. This is because Kenya has deployed some 400 police officers to help rid the country of gangs.
The government has plans to reach a total of 1,000 officers as part of the 2,500-strong international force.
Other contributing countries include Bangladesh, Jamaica and Barbados.
Kenyans also googled Cyclone Hidaya, a tropical cyclone in the southwest Indian Ocean, which hit Tanzania on May 4.
Hidaya was the strongest tropical storm ever recorded in the Tanzania area, contributing to flooding in the region.
With the arrival of Starlink in Kenya, most citizens searched the internet looking to know the prices and range of the same.
Starlink is an internet provider that uses satellites to provide connectivity. It is a subsidiary of Billionaire Elon Musk's commercial spaceflight company SpaceX.
Following the June protests, Gen Z became a household term, emerging eighth in the top 10 list of most searched news.
The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights said at least 50 people were killed and 413 others injured less than two months into the unrest amid the government crackdown on the protesters.
Kenyans also searched for The Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) which aims to provide health insurance for every citizen, including those in the informal sector and vulnerable groups who have been historically underserved.
The last topic was the Ford Foundation which was on the spot after President William Ruto linked it June protests.
Earlier in July, without providing any evidence to back his allegations, Ruto accused the Foundation of sponsoring the violence.
"I want to call out those who are behind the anarchy in Kenya, those who are behind sponsoring chaos in the Republic of Kenya. Shame on them, because they are sponsoring violence against our democratic nation,” he said.
“I want to ask the Ford Foundation if that money they are giving out to fund violence, how is it going to benefit them?"
Fast-forward to September, Ruto met with the leadership of Ford Foundation, when he thanked them for investing in Kenya’s development over the last 60 years.
Then, Ruto agreed on the need to upgrade the institution’s Host Country
Agreement and provide a robust framework for the realization of mutual objectives.
FULL LIST:
1. SHA
2. Finance Bill 2024
3. US Elections 2024
4. Gachagua Impeachment
5. Haiti
6. Cyclone Hidaya
7. Starlink Kenya
8. Gen Z
9. SHIF
10.
Ford Foundation
